Table pc bracket

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a support bracket for tablet personal computer (tablet PC), including a support board and a support footing. The support board consists of a backboard, a prop-up member and a plurality of engaging members to support the back of tablet PC. Each engaging member contains a neck and a head. The support footing contains a first supporting plate and a second supporting plate, which form a bend and each having an engaging hole. Each engaging hole has a big hole that enables the head of any aforementioned engaging member to pass through and a small hole that could engage the corresponding neck. When any one of the aforementioned engaging holes engages any one of the aforementioned engaging members through its small hole, while the supporting plate of the other engaging hole is not pressed close to the prop-up member, the tablet PC bracket could be braced on a desktop/ground surface through the supporting plate not pressed close to the prop-up member and the prop-up member.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a tablet personal computer (tablet PC)bracket, more particularly a tablet PC bracket that could change theways of support.

BACKGROUND

Along with technological advancement, tablet PC stresses the features ofsmall size, light weight and ease of carriage. But as tablet PC is usedin different environments, it might need to be held or mounted indifferent ways to render its use more convenient. Thus the demand fortablet PC bracket arises. Typical tablet PC bracket employs a flat basewith all kinds of support elements installed thereon. Although the basecomes in a variety of structure, such as in the form of a long plate orinverted V-shape, the base must be arranged on an even surface. Suchbracket usually has problem staying firm and steady when the surface itstands on is unsteady or uneven.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In light of the drawback of prior art, the present invention provides atablet PC bracket that could change its way of support by changing howits parts are assembled.

The present invention discloses a tablet PC bracket, comprising asupport board and a support footing. The support board consists of abackboard, a prop-up member and a plurality of engaging members. Thebackboard is used for supporting the back of the tablet PC. The prop-upmember is arranged at the bottom of the front side of the backboard.Each engaging member consists of a neck and a head. One end of the neckis connected to back side of the backboard, while the other end of theneck is connected to the head. The support footing comprises a firstsupporting plate and a second supporting plate. The first supportingplate has a first engaging hole. The second supporting plate isconnected to the first supporting plate in such a way that the supportfooting forms a bend, the second supporting plate having a secondengaging hole. Both the first engaging hole and the second engaging holecontain a big hole that allows any head of the plurality of engagingmembers to pass through the support footing, and a small hole that couldengage any neck of the plurality of engaging members. When the firstsupporting plate engages any one of the plurality of engaging membersthrough the first engaging hole and the second supporting plate is notpressed close to the prop-up member, the tablet PC bracket could bebraced on a desktop/ground surface through the second supporting plateand the prop-up member. When the second supporting plate engages any oneof the plurality of engaging members through the second engaging holeand the first supporting plate is not pressed close to the prop-upmember, the tablet PC bracket could be braced on a ground surfacethrough the first supporting plate and the prop-up member.

Therefore, by changing the way of assembling the support board and thesupport footing, the present invention is able to change the angle ofsupport and adapt to all kinds of application environment.

The objects, features and effects of the invention are described indetail below with embodiments in reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is front view of an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of a support board in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top view of a support board in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a rear view of a support board in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of a support board installed with a rubberpad in an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a support board in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a support footing in an embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 8 is an exploded view of a tablet PC bracket in the firstembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 9 is a rear perspective view of a tablet PC bracket in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a side perspective view of a tablet PC bracket in FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a tablet PC bracket in a secondembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 12 is a side view of a tablet PC bracket in folded state in anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 13 is an exploded view of a tablet PC bracket in a third embodimentof the invention; and

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a tablet PC bracket in FIG. 13.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The tablet PC bracket of the invention comprises mainly two largecomponents—a support board and a support footing, and can achievedifferent support angles or space-saving storage by assembling the twocomponents in different ways. To facilitate an understanding of theoperating principles of tablet PC according to the invention, thesections below will first describe detailed structures of the supportboard and the support footing, followed by the methods of theirassembly.

FIGS. 1-4 show respectively a front view, side view, top view and rearview of a support board 10 in an embodiment of the invention. Thesupport board 10 consists mainly of a backboard 100, a prop-up member110 and engaging members A1, A2. The front side of the backboard 100 isused for supporting the back of a tablet PC. The prop-up member 110arranged at the bottom of the front side of the backboard 100 is usedfor supporting the bottom of a tablet PC when it is placed upright andfor supporting the side of a tablet PC when it is placed horizontally.Engaging members A1, A2 are arranged respectively at the top and lowerportion of the back side of the backboard 100 (as shown in FIG. 4).Engaging member A1 includes a neck A1_NE and a head A1_HD. Engagingmember A2 includes a neck A2_NE and a head A₂—HD (as shown in FIG. 2).As shown in FIG. 3, the neck A1_NE is composed a main post in the middleand an auxiliary post on each side. A rolling ball type engaging elementis disposed between the main post and each of the auxiliary posts. Suchconstructions should be familiar to people with common knowledge in thefield and will not be elaborated here. Neck A2_NE and neck A1_NE havethe same constructions.

The support board 10 also contains rubber pieces B1-B6 for reducingfriction, of which, rubber pieces B1 and B2 could reduce the backfriction of tablet PC, rubber piece B3 could reduce the bottom frictionof tablet PC, rubber piece B4 could reduce the friction between supportboard 10 and desktop/ground surface, while rubber pieces B5 and B6 couldreduce the friction generated when the support board 10 couples with thesupport footing.

In addition, in FIG. 3, CVX1 and CVX2 are concavities formed on rubberpiece B3 for coupling with the rubber pad so as to raise the prop-upmember to support other small electronic devices, such as smartphone ormini notebook (e.g. Apple MacBook Air, Google Chromebook, ASUS Ecc Pc,Acer Aspire One). As shown in FIG. 5, concavities CVX1 and CVX2 of thesupport board 10 could be coupled respectively with the convexities CAV1and CAV2 of a rubber pad 12 so that rubber pad 12 could be secured tothe support board 10 as shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a support footing 20 according to anembodiment of the invention. The support footing 20 comprises mainly apair of supporting plate 200 and 210 which form a bend. The supportingplate 200 and 210 each has an engaging hole H1 and H2. Engaging hole H1consists of two big holes H1_BIG and a small hole H1_SML sandwichedtherebetween. Engaging hole H2 consists of a big hole and a small holeconnecting with each other, which are the same as big hole H1_BIG and asmall hole H1_SML in shape and size. The support footing 20 includes inaddition a rubber piece B7 to reduce friction.

The support board 10 and the support footing 20 in an embodiment of theinvention are assembled mainly by passing the head of any engagingmember on the support plate 10 through any big hole on the supportfooting 20, and then coupling the neck with the small hole. Referring toFIG. 8 and FIG. 9, FIG. 8 is an exploded view of a tablet PC bracket 50in a first embodiment of the invention, and FIG. 9 is a correspondingperspective view. In FIG. 8, the head of engaging member A2 of thesupport board 10 passes through the supporting plate 210 via the bighole of engaging hole H2 and then moves to the right to enable thecoupling between the neck of engaging member A2 and the small hole ofengaging hole H2. FIG. 10 is a side view of FIG. 9. As shown, when thesupporting plate 210 is engaged with the engaging member A2 via theengaging hole H2 and the supporting plate 200 is not pressed close tothe prop-up member 110, the tablet PC bracket 50 could stand on adesktop/ground surface through the support of the supporting plate 200and prop-up member 110.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a tablet PC bracket 60 according to asecond embodiment of the invention. The tablet PC bracket 60 isassembled in principle by coupling the supporting plate 210 to theengaging member A1. People with common knowledge in the field can easilyunderstand the manner of assembly shown in FIG. 11 based on thedescriptions given above. Thus the assembly method in the secondembodiment will not be elaborated here.

Similarly, the supporting plate 200 can also be coupled to the engagingmember A1 or A2 to enable the support bracket to achieve differentsupport angles. In other words, when the supporting plate 200 is coupledto the engaging member A1 or A2 via the engaging hole Hl and thesupporting plate 210 is not pressed close to the prop-up member 110, adifferent tablet PC bracket is assembled (not shown in the figures),which could stand on a desktop/ground surface through the support of thesupporting plate 210 and the prop-up member 110.

As described above, the tablet PC bracket of the invention relies mainlyon the contact with the prop-up member 110 and the support footing 20with the desktop/ground surface for support. This way, it allows usersto change the angle of support at will. Moreover, when thedesktop/ground surface is uneven, such as an inclined surface or a stepsurface, users are still provided with an assembly option that offersstable support.

FIG. 12 is a side view of a tablet PC bracket 70 in folded stateaccording to an embodiment of the invention. By adjusting the bendformed by the supporting plates 200 and 210, the supporting plate 210could press close to the prop-up member 110 when the supporting plate200 is engaged with the engaging member A2 via the engaging hole Hl suchthat only a small space is required for the storage of the supportbracket.

FIG. 13 is an exploded view of a mounted tablet PC bracket 80 accordingto a third embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, the tabletPC bracket 80 comprises a tablet PC bracket 70 and a mounting kit 75.The mounting kit 75 consists of a body piece 76, a head piece 77 to propagainst the top of table PC, and elastic bands 78, 79. The body piece 76has engaging holes H3, H4, screw holes RH1-RH3, and bore holes BH1, BH2.The engaging holes H3, F4 are identical to the aforementioned engaginghole H2 of support footing 20 in shape and size such that they cancouple with the engaging member A1 or A2 of tablet PC bracket 70. FIG.13 shows the coupling between engaging hole F4 and engaging member A1.Under the circumstance, mounting kit 75 can achieve mounting in a numberof manners. For example, the elastic bands 78, 79 can fastenrespectively the body piece 76 as shown in FIG. 13, and by adjusting thelength of the elastic bands 78, 79, the tablet PC bracket 80 can mountvertically on the headrest of an automobile. Users could also use anelastic band to fasten the body piece 76 via the bore holes BH1, BH2 andthen tie the elastic band horizontally to the seat of an automobile toallow tablet PC bracket to mount vertically. Users also have the optionto screw through screw holes RH1-RH3 to allow tablet PC bracket 80 to bemounted vertically on a wall surface. FIG. 14 is a perspective view oftablet PC bracket 80 (viewing from the front side of the support board10 of tablet PC bracket 70). Moreover, when users use the mounting kit75, it is not necessary for the support footing 20 to stay attached tothe tablet PC bracket 80 that it can be removed to reduce the weight ofthe bracket. In addition, if engaging hole H3 is instead coupled to theengaging member Al in FIG. 13, the tablet PC can be placed horizontallydue to the smaller space between the head piece 77 and the prop-upmember 110. At this time, the head piece 77 and the prop-up member 110are used to prop against each side of the table PC.

It should be noted that people with common knowledge in the field canproduce many variations based on the possible needs of users. A fewexamples are cited below:

(1) The number, shape, size and thickness of rubber pieces may varybased on tablet PC's resistance to friction.

(2) The number and location of engaging members on the support board mayvary based on the angle of support to be provided by the tablet PCbracket. The head of the engaging member may also come in differentstyles, as long as it can pass through the big hole on the supportfooting and will not allow the support board to be easily dislodged fromthe support footing. The neck of the engaging member can be a rollingball structure or any other elastic structure that could aid thestability of engagement.

(3) The number of engaging holes on the support footing can also varybased on the angle of support to be provided by the tablet PC bracket.The key point is that each engaging hole must have at least a big holeand at least a small hole.

(4) The bend angle between the two supporting plates of the supportfooting may be adjusted according to the external shape of the prop-upmember to achieve the purpose of space saving.

(5) The hollow-out pattern and style on the support board may beadjusted at will to allow better ventilation and cooling for the tabletPC.

As described above, the tablet PC bracket in the embodiments of theinvention mainly use the different ways of assembly of a support boardand a support footing to achieve different support angles or allowfolding for easier storage and become useful in different environments.The tablet PC bracket can also provide support in mounted style using asupport board and a mounting kit. The assembly of the support bracketaccording to the present invention does not require any tool and iseasy. The support bracket can also be quickly dismantled, save space andis easy to carry.

The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosedin the examples. However, all modifications and alterations withoutdeparting from the spirits of the invention shall remain within theprotected scope and claims of the invention.

1. A tablet PC bracket for supporting a tablet PC, comprising: a supportboard, consisting of: a backboard for supporting the back of the tabletPC; a prop-up member, arranged at the bottom of the front side of thebackboard; and a plurality of engaging members, each engaging memberconsisting of a head and a neck, one end of the neck being connected tothe back of the backboard, and the other end of the neck being connectedto the head; and a support footing, consisting of: a first supportingplate, having a first engaging hole; and a second supporting plate,connecting to the first supporting plate such that the support footingforms a bend, the second supporting plate having a second engaging hole,where both the first engaging hole and the second engaging hole containa big hole allowing any head of the plurality of engaging members topass through the support footing and a small hole that could engage anyneck of the plurality of engaging members; wherein when the firstsupporting plate engages any one of the plurality of engaging membersthrough the first engaging hole and the second supporting plate is notpressed close to the prop-up member, the tablet PC bracket could bebraced through the second supporting plate and the prop-up member; whenthe second supporting plate engages any one of the plurality of engagingmembers through the second engaging hole and the first supporting plateis not pressed close to the prop-up member, the tablet PC bracket couldbe braced through the first supporting plate and the prop-up member. 2.The tablet PC bracket according to claim 1, wherein when the firstsupporting plate engages any of the plurality of engaging membersthrough the first engaging hole, the second supporting plate is pressedclose to the prop-up member through the bend.
 3. The tablet PC bracketaccording to claim 2, further comprising a mounting kit for mounting thetablet PC bracket, wherein the mounting kit has a third engaging hole,the third engaging hole containing a big hole and a small hole.
 4. Thetablet PC bracket according to claim 3, wherein the mounting kit furtherconsisting of a bore hole and an elastic band, the elastic band fastensthe mounting kit through the bore hole.
 5. The tablet PC bracketaccording to claim 3, wherein the mounting kit further includes a screwhole.
 6. The tablet PC bracket according to claim 3, wherein themounting kit further includes a head piece to prop against the top orside of the tablet PC.
 7. The tablet PC bracket according to claim 1,further comprising a rubber pad engaging the prop-up member to raise theprop-up member for supporting other small-sized electronic devices.